The Fabric of the Cosmos cover art

The Fabric of the Cosmos

Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality

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The Fabric of the Cosmos

By: Brian Greene
Narrated by: Michael Prichard
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About this listen

 From Brian Greene, one of the world's leading physicists, comes a grand tour of the universe that makes us look at reality in a completely different way.

Space and time form the very fabric of the cosmos. Yet they remain among the most mysterious of concepts. Is space an entity? Why does time have a direction? Could the universe exist without space and time? Can we travel to the past?

Greene uses these questions to guide us toward modern science's new and deeper understanding of the universe. From Newton's unchanging realm in which space and time are absolute, to Einstein's fluid conception of spacetime, to quantum mechanics' entangled arena where vastly distant objects can bridge their spatial separation to instantaneously coordinate their behavior or even undergo teleportation, Greene reveals our world to be very different from what common experience leads us to believe. Focusing on the enigma of time, Greene establishes that nothing in the laws of physics insists that it run in any particular direction and that "time’s arrow" is a relic of the universe's condition at the moment of the big bang. And in explaining the big bang itself, Greene shows how recent cutting-edge developments in superstring and M-theory may reconcile the behavior of everything from the smallest particle to the largest black hole. This startling vision culminates in a vibrant eleven-dimensional "multiverse," pulsating with ever-changing textures, where space and time themselves may dissolve into subtler, more fundamental entities.

Sparked by the trademark wit, humor, and brilliant use of analogy that have made The Elegant Universe a modern classic, Brian Greene takes us all, regardless of our scientific backgrounds, on an irresistible and revelatory journey to the new layers of reality that modern physics has discovered lying just beneath the surface of our everyday world.

Cover photograph by DB Image/Brand X Pictures©2004 Brian Greene (P)2004 Books on Tape, Inc. Astronomy Astronomy & Space Science Cosmology Science Mathematics Black Hole Witty

Critic Reviews

"Nobody ever said that cosmology was simple, not even Stephen Hawking, in whose tradition Dr. Greene impressively follows....He is both a skilled and kindly explicator....The Fabric of the Cosmos is as dazzling as it is tough." (The New York Times)

"It will be enjoyable and stimulating for the lay reader, who will even learn about time travel and teleportation. This is one popular-science book that won't be left on the coffee table half read." (The New York Times Book Review)

“Forbidding formulas no longer stand between general readers and the latest breakthroughs in astrophysics: the imaginative gifts of one of the pioneers making these breakthroughs has now translated mathematical science into accessible analogies drawn from everyday life and popular culture....Nonspecialists will relish this exhilarating foray into the alien terrain that is our own universe.” (Booklist, starred review)

“This is popular science writing of the highest order...Greene [has an] unparalleled ability to translate higher mathematics into everyday language and images, through the adept use of metaphor and analogy, and crisp, witty prose....He not only makes concepts clear, but explains why they matter.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

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This is an amazing book that is practical, humerous, engaging and insightful. Using examples of Homer, Bart, Apu, Barney and everyone else, this book explains complex concepts of physics in a way that makes sense. The author has a very dry sense of humour and he uses it very well. It's a great listen. Not always easy, but if you pay attention it all makes sense, and there is not an equation in sight....sound!

The Simpsons teach Physics

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The info within is starting to date a little simply because so much has happened in Cosmology in the last decade. But most of the content is well and truly valid. Well worth a listen if you want to bring yourself up to speed.

Simplifies the Complicated

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Appalling narration. It sounds like a horrific science show produced in 1950. Without Greene's warm and engaging tones this is a real task to get through. The barking, cold, nazi-harshness of this narrator makes me want to listen standing at attention.

Why didn't Brian Greene narrate this?

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Reader was monotone and bland.
Strange attempts to use everyday things as illustrations, just did not work.

Now I know why Sir Roger Penrose discounts super string theory as just a maths concept with zero real evidence

I am disappointed with Brian Green.

Strange book

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